The Salamander Queen Bee suddenly stopped breathing.
Its wings no longer moved and it fell out of the air.
The corpse exploded after it fell for a few seconds.
The shockwaves of the explosion hit Neo with powerful intensity.
“I was really dead if that thing attacked me.”
Neo filled his backpack with honey and quickly started descending.
Using Aura of Darkness for too long was draining.
It was nighttime when he reached the ground.
“You are back!”
Jack’s face lit up.
The workers of the Apiary were waiting for him.
Neo threw away the suit as soon as stepped on the cold hard earth.
He didn’t care if he was half naked or about the gazes of others.
“Finally…”
He took a deep breath.
The freezing air cooled him down.
“These are your clothes,” Joana came to him with a flushed face.
“Can I have a shower before that?”
“Yes, of course.”
She maintained her professional attitude despite the scene before her eyes.
Neo noticed her gaze moving to his lower half but he was too exhausted to care about anything.
After returning from the shower, he crashed on the chair next to Jack.
Both of them sat under the moonlight in silence.
“You are quite bold. I didn’t expect you to get naked as soon as you completed the job.”
Jack chuckled.
He was no longer a nervous mess.
“There are quite a few young ladies working at the shop. How do you think they will react now?”
“You think I give a fuck about what others think?”
Neo noticed some of the girls peeking at them from the window.
He pursed his lips.
“You should try to wear that suit under the sun and see if you don’t get cooked.”
“Hahaha, I’m sorry. I wasn’t blaming you.”
“Anyway, where is the Salamander Queen Bee corpse?”
“Why? Are you thinking of —”
“Yeah, I’ll devour it while the Apiary prepares our rewards.”
Jack stopped smiling.
It was known to everyone how the users of Darkness ended.
Insane and corrupted.
Not a single Darkness user was spared from the wretched fate.
He wanted to advice Neo against it.
However, it was clear Neo wouldn’t listen to him.
“Come with me. They said we could take the corpse since we hunted it and stored it for us.”
Neo followed him.
They found the Salamander Queen Bee’s corpse inside another shed deep into the forest.
“Want to watch the process? It will help you with your element.” Neo questioned.
“No, I’m okay. I’ll wait for you outside.”
Jack closed the doors and left.
Alone, Neo inspected the corpse.
“It didn’t die from the explosion, but from the Aura Snipe.”
If Neo had not killed it, the Salamander Queen Bee could’ve bombarded him with multiple explosions.
He once again realized how close he was to dying.
“It’s too late to be afraid of death.”
He chuckled and formed the hand signs.
“Darkness… Devour.”
The shadows bloomed.
And the noises returned.
comePlayagainWEwAnttoplayAgainagainComeTOourworldNeoWeWiLLtreatyouFAIRLYcometousneolet’SPlayaGAIN.
It was unpleasant.
He couldn’t get used to it no matter how many times he did it.
[Dynamic Vision +1]
[Agility +1]
He left the shed and returned to the Apiary with Jack.
Joana waited for them there.
“These four bottles are your rewards. We’ve mailed you the mission completion documents.
“Once you return to the mission hall and complete the verification process, you will receive the credits.”
“Four? The reward was only three bottles of Energy Replenishment elixir.”
“Yes, the fourth bottle is a thanks from our side.
“You completed the mission in half the usual time. It helped us too.”
Neo accepted the rewards.
He popped open one of the bottle and drank it.
It tasted sweet.
A warm sensation traveled through his body and he could feel his physical exhaustion disappearing.
“It’s nice.”
“Thank you. Our products are in high demand across the academy, but it is always nice to hear the praise of a Ruler.”
Neo left the Apiary with Jack.
“Why were you so cold? I’m pretty sure the girls there would’ve liked your number,” Jack teased.
“I’m busy.”
He took out his phone and dialed Christian’s number.
“What are you doing?” Jack asked.
“Asking them about their mission progress to see if we should start the last C-rank mission.”
“Already? It’s midnight.”
“We don’t have time to rest. Besides, I don’t feel exhausted after using the Energy Replenishment elixir.”
It was harmful for the body to use the elixirs in large amount.
They could impede the growth of stats.
However, Neo was tight on time and he barely drank anything.
It was not dangerous.
Not yet at least.
Christian picked up the call after he dialed it the third time.
“Hello— Crack! Crack! Boom! are busy! The monster—Boom! evolved.
“It’s too strong!
“The mission— Boom! Boom! B-rank or even an A-rank!”
The static noises and the explosions made it difficult for Neo to understand Christian’s words.
It was clear they were having a hard time.
“Do you need help?” Neo asked.
Even if the mission’s rank was evaluated wrongly — which shouldn’t have been possible — they did not have the time to report the error to the mission hall and receive another mission.
They had to complete the mission today itself.
“No! We— Boom! Crack! -ourselves. You two go for the third— Crack! Boom!”
The call was cut.
Neo bit his lips.
“Will it be okay?” Jack questioned. “If Mars and Christian are having trouble then the monster has to be strong.”
Neo nodded.
Mars was on par with Morrigan. For now at least.
A C-rank mission’s monster should’ve been no match for Mars.
Christian wasn’t weak either.
Those two could handle an A-rank mission’s monster if they were well prepared.
“We can only leave it to them.”
“But—”
“They said they would complete the mission themselves. Let’s trust them.”
Jack nodded with a hardened face.
They went towards the location of the last C-rank mission.
…
There were eight buildings for the first year students of Templar Course.
These buildings were called blocks.
Aurelia Block, Veritas Block, Tempus Block, Nexus Block, Orion Block, Arcadia Block, Helios Block, Solstice Block.
Each block was ginormous and held different classes.
For reference, these eight were blocks assigned to Templar Course students.
There were dozens of more blocks for different courses.
Thankfully, Neo did not have to go to a different course’s block, since just walking there could take half-a-day or more.
They met the guards of the Aurelia block and showed them the mission document.
“Come inside.”
The guard, stern faced, opened the doors for them.